


His Bleeding Rebel Heart

by WriterAmongDreamers



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ben Solo Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Ben Solo, F/M, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27526741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterAmongDreamers/pseuds/WriterAmongDreamers
Summary: A different choice is made six years ago...forever changing the fate of the galaxy.This is not going to go the way you think.(Rough summary, will update as the story continues.)(Rating may change)
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14





	1. Godspeed

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Colonel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14704560) by [Olpgurl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olpgurl/pseuds/Olpgurl). 



> Hi! This is my first fanfiction, and I wanted to see what everyone's reaction is before I continue the series. So, if you like the story and want to read more, please like and comment below. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Kylo Ren didn’t know he’d been bracing for the impact until after the last shot had struck the Resistance cruiser. He unfurled his tight fists and gently stretched his fingers, commanding his shoulders and muscles to relax. 

What he had felt happen...it wasn’t like Hosnian Prime when he’d forced himself to stand upright even as millions of voices suddenly winked out of existence. Ren faintly remembered collapsing in his chambers afterward, out of sight of any First Order officers or Company 77, and well out of sight of Cadeus Bane. 

No, the loss of life he’d felt when the cruiser was destroyed wasn’t what he’d expected. Instead of hundreds of lives lost, there was… 

Oh. _Oh_. 

There was only one life missing in the fabric of the universe. Vice Admiral Holdo. 

He only had faint memories of the violet haired politician from the days when his mother worked at the Senate. He remembered she was kind, had a sharp wit, and hadn’t been at all offended when he’d asked why her hair wasn’t normal. 

So her plan had worked. Ren stretched out his feelings and sensed the thirty Resistance transport ships, carrying the last survivors of the Resistance away from the First Order. With great relief, he sensed Leia Organa among them. 

_Godspeed, Vice Admiral Holdo; he_ sent a prayer to the Force, _Your sacrifice will never be forgotten._

When the war was over, he’d make sure of it. 

“Sir?” 

Ren didn’t need to turn around to know that Jannah, his “eyes and ears” and captain of Company 77, was standing behind him. 

“We’ve received a transmission from the _Finalizer_ ,” she began. The slight inclination of his head prompted her to keep speaking. 

“They’re saying that Snoke is dead and Cadeus Bane has been named Supreme Leader. We’ve been recalled to join the fleet.” 

So Cadeus had finally snapped. Ren had been expecting this for a while, but he hadn’t expected him to react so quickly. Despite Snoke’s brutality and eagerness to bend the galaxy to his will, he’d kept a loose leash regarding Kylo Ren’s movements and his expeditions looking for information to use against the New Republic. Now with Cadeus as Supreme Leader, Kylo expected his crew would be watched rather closely for a while until things settled down. 

“Then we will return to the fleet,” the vocoder of his black and silver mask disguised his voice as he turned on his heel, the black cloak swirling out behind him as Jannah fell into step next to him. 

“Jannah,” Kylo began, “When we return, I want you to pay attention to everything, even if it seems mundane. With Snoke gone, there will be plenty of officers trying to curry favor with the new Supreme Leader, and they’ll probably do anything to secure themselves a place by his side.” 

“Yes, sir,” Jannah responded as they approached the shuttle. 

**************

Upon the shuttle’s landing, Kylo could sense the stormtroopers outside who had been assigned to meet him, and he almost didn’t need Jannah to tell him that Hux was with them. But he’d learned long ago that letting Jannah tell him things that she saw, even if he already knew them, put the bright young woman at ease. Besides, he liked her descriptions of the First Order when in private; it had taken Demeter a long time to convince the former stormtrooper that it was fine for her to speak her mind, even around Kylo Ren. 

“Sir… “ she paused, looking for the right description to use, “I think General Hugs is waiting outside for you.” 

A small smile graced Ren’s lips as he secured his helmet, then checked to make sure he looked presentable. When he got back to the Resistance, if he ever did, he’d have to find whoever came up with that nickname for General Hux and thank them profusely. 

“Very well then,” he finally spoke, “Shall we get this over with?” 

Jannah nodded, grasping her own cloak and pulling it over her dark grey armor before grabbing her helmet and blaster. 

“Remember Jannah,” he reminded his third in command, “Eyes and ears on everything, no matter how small.” 

*****************

Here’s what is believed: Ben Solo disappeared during the sacking of Luke Skywalker’s temple and was later kidnapped by pirates, only to reemerge as a First Order mercenary, Kylo Ren, bearing the scars of his torture. Han and Leia separated after their son’s disappearance, and despite the First Order’s rise and the decline of the New Republic, Leia has carried on leading the Resistance, alone. 

Some of these things are true, but not all of them. Ben Solo did disappear and join the First Order, but he had help. His mother, Leia Organa, uses the information sent by him to lead the Resistance and coordinate the next move. The pirates who “tortured” him weren’t exactly pirates, but the Knights of Ren. Kylo’s second in command, Demeter Nest, was the one to add him to the ranks and continues to mentor him. 

No one, not even the Resistance High Command members, not even the First Order High Council, not even Cadeus Bane, and not even Snoke, who took him in with open arms, knows that Kylo Ren is, and will always be, Ben Solo. 


	2. The Situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm back with a slightly larger chapter, which answers some of the questions you've asked in the comments. Please feel free to like and leave more questions below. Your enthusiasm is greatly appreciated.

General Hux stood at the foot of the ramp with his hands behind his back as he waited for Kylo Ren to descend, followed closely by the captain of Company 77. Truthfully, Hux didn’t know what had gone through Snoke’s head when he presented Company 77 to Kylo Ren as his personal force instead of giving the command to Cadeus Bane; the rumors that ran around the ship suggested that Bane had screwed up on his last mission and nearly lost control. 

“Kylo Ren,” Hux greeted the mercenary cooly, “We didn’t expect you to be back so quickly.” 

“The message did say to come with swift haste,” Ren retorted as Hux fell into step next to him, the captain following closely behind, “And we wouldn’t want to keep the new Supreme Leader waiting.” 

“Oh, indeed,” Hux agreed, “I was wondering what would happen if you’d decided not to show up. After all, Snoke isn’t here to hold the leash anymore.” 

“Gods forbid if Bane decided to kill you in your sleep,” the redhead continued, clearly joking. Hux continued with a report of the fleet, but Kylo’s mind was elsewhere with the general’s previous comment- 

_ The searing heat of the lightsaber over his head -  _

_ The hate in Liam’s eyes -  _

_ The stones crumbling around him as he pulled the small hut over their heads -  _

“-and it was rather a shock to all of us when Bane,” Hux corrected himself with a sneer, “the Supreme Leader, came on the bridge with the scavenger-” 

Scavenger? Wait. How long had Kylo lost focus? He quickly turned to the redheaded general as they stopped walking. 

“What?” 

“I thought you’d heard,” Hux explained, confused, “The Supreme Leader announced that the scavenger was responsible for the demise of Supreme Leader Snoke.” 

Scavenger, where had he heard of this before? Oh, yes. Hux was probably talking about the girl Cadeus Bane had found on Takodana while looking for the droid. From what he’d heard when Snoke was speaking to Cadeus (now that Kylo thought on it, that was the last time he saw Snoke), the girl had not only managed to summon Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber but had managed to best Cadeus, a seasoned lightsaber combatant, without any training. 

But what had she been doing on the  _ Supremacy  _ anyway? Was it capture? Or had she boarded of her own free will? 

“And now Bane’s declared this girl will become the Empress of the First Order,” Hux continued in a scathing tone of voice, completely disregarding Bane’s new title, and the comment caught Ren’s ear. 

That was new. Ren voiced his thought, then added on, “Wasn’t Bane more concerned with killing the girl than keeping her?” 

“I thought so too, but he appears to have changed his mind,” Hux responded, “Must have something to do with securing his position.” 

Ren knew enough about politics to know what Hux was talking about; Cadeus probably wanted an heir to secure his place as Supreme Leader. It wasn’t a bad idea, considering that the scavenger was a powerful, if untrained, Force Sensitive, but he couldn’t help but pity the young woman in this situation now. 

“And speaking of our Supreme Leader,” Hux’s next words drew Ren back once again to the moment, “He sent me here to deliver a message. Apparently, he wants to meet with you.” 

Meet with him? Kylo couldn’t remember one occasion where Cadeus Bane had wanted to meet with him. Of course, there were situations where they had to be in the same room, but they had never met of their own free will beyond that. 

“I assume he didn’t share a reason for this sudden invitation,” Ren asked. 

“He didn’t mention anything explicit,” Hux remarked, “Perhaps it’s his duty as the Supreme Leader to ensure the loyalty of his men and crew. I think he’s worried you might lead a revolt.” 

Ren didn’t need Hux to elaborate; next to Cadeus and the Knights of the First Order, Company 77 and the Knights of Ren were the second most powerful divisions in the First Order. Before they’d joined the First Order, the Knights of Ren were mercenaries who’d taken jobs from Snoke often but had shown no true loyalty to the deceased Supreme Leader. After Kylo Ren had killed the group’s previous leader (obviously named Ren,) Kylo and the Knights of Ren had sworn loyalty to Snoke and the First Order. And with their arrival began the greatest rivalry between the Knights of the First Order and the Knights of Ren. Fortunately, the two groups hadn’t spilled blood, as Kylo and Cadeus knew the extent of Snoke’s rath if either of them started a brawl. 

And now that Cadeus was Supreme Leader, his meeting with Kylo Ren was sending a message to the rest of the Rens: I am the leader, and you will bow to me. 

But that wasn’t the thought running through Kylo’s head. There was something...different about the General as they continued to walk the corridors, several officers saluting their superiors while stormtroopers lowered their gazes. Hux didn’t have to deliver the message to Kylo. He could have just sent someone else to deliver it or wait for Cadeus to send the message out. It was rare when Hux did something himself. 

“You didn’t just come here to brief me on the situation or deliver Bane’s message, did you, General?” Ren asked as he came to a stop and faced Hux once more, “You’re here with a warning. A threat, perhaps?” 

“Not at all,” Hux replied, sounding offended before his voice lowered. It was a tone Hux rarely used unless he wanted someone to pay attention to his words. 

“Only that you be careful, Ren. The Supreme Leader may have turned a blind eye to your “expeditions” because you proved you were loyal to the First Order, but Bane will be keeping an eye on you for a while. Don’t do anything stupid that might risk your life.” 

“It’s not my life I’m concerned about,” Ren responded, “Or my position. But if Bane does anything to hurt the Knights or Company 77, I don’t plan on being so lenient with him, Supreme Leader or not.” 

************

He had about two hours before Bane was scheduled to see him. Two hours to unwind from everything that had happened over the last week. Two hours as Ben Solo before he had to face Bane as Kylo Ren. When the door closed behind him, he quickly removed his helmet and leaned his head back against the cool metal, closing his eyes. 

The last few days had been exhausting. Between reviewing intel with Demeter, overseeing the Knights’ training, and his most recent intel run with Jannah, Kylo couldn’t remember a moment where he’d been able to rest. Snoke had sent him off to meet a First Order sponsor shortly after relocating to the  _ Supremacy  _ following Starkiller Base’s destruction, so he hadn’t been around to witness the Resistance’s evacuation from D’Qar or the battle that followed shortly afterward. But even the mission that kept him out of Cadeus Bane’s way didn’t give him enough time to rest. Just a few hours after finalizing the deal with the sponsor, word had arrived that Snoke was dead, which meant spending the rest of the trip home in deliberation on how to keep the Knights of Ren afloat in even murkier waters. It was Ben’s greatest weakness: whenever his mind was thinking of something, it always made it difficult for him to get some sleep, the thoughts, questions, and worries in his head demanding attention. 

But if Ben had to repeat the last few days over again, he’d say his exhaustion was well justified. 

“Hey, kid.” 

Ben smiled, opening his eyes and turning his head to the older man who’d spoken up. He was dressed in the standard First Order uniform but still bore the same rugged face from his smuggler days. 

“Dad,” Ben replied. 

“Hate to break it to you,” Han Solo began, “But you look like hell.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes...Han's alive. I couldn't find the heart to kill him. 
> 
> I've been reading Epic Love by lajulie; it's a great Han/Leia fanfic that reimagines the sequel trilogy if Han and Leia didn't split up. Like this fanfic, the author didn't kill Han, 
> 
> You'll find out more about how Han survived and Ben's exhaustion in the next chapter, and also more about Cadeus Bane (Liam)! I'm fleshing out the backstory and how the rivalry between him and Ben began, which is important because it fleshes out Bane's character, especially how he interacts with Rey. 
> 
> I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as possible, but I can't make promises since I'm in the last few weeks of the semester, which means...FINALS. 
> 
> Keep sending the love, and stay safe out there!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for your support! I'm loving the responses I'm getting so I've decided to continue this series. 
> 
> I don't have a beta reader, so if you're interested in reading this series, please feel free to message me. 
> 
> Keep the love coming!


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